Microsoft tests fix for latest hours-long Outlook outage

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  August 31, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Microsoft tests fix for latest hours-long Outlook outage: Microsoft says it's testing a fix for the widespread Outlook issues that have led to email delays and failures. Read More Ryan Breslow is raising up to $27M in pay-to-play bridge funding to save Bolt: The controversial founder of the checkout startup once valued at $11 billion is putting in $5 million of his own money. Read More Tim Cook's parting message: Apple is in the hands of a product builder: Tim Cook’s farewell memo to Apple employees offers a glimpse at how he wants John Ternus to be seen: as a product builder with deep experience across the iPhone, Mac, AirPods, and other major hardware lines. Read More Afternoon Must-Reads MapQuest's app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario: MapQuest is getting an unexpected boost from its decision to defy President Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario. Read More Hackers claim millions of patient records stolen during data breach at healthcare giant McKesson: The company, which distributes medicines and medical devices to hospitals and healthcare practices across the U.S., said it was hacked and expects intermittent service degradation. Read More How AI could make it harder for governments to use hacking tools: AI is proving effective at finding and exploiting vulnerabilities. Some say this will make it harder for governments to use hacking tools and spyware and could reignite calls to backdoor devices. Read More The Pentagon now has its own version of ChatGPT and Grok: Versions of OpenAI's ChatGPT and SpaceXAI's Grok will join Google's Gemini on the Pentagon's central portal for AI tools. Read More Apple's top App Store exec, Phil Schiller, follows wave of exits as CEO Tim Cook steps down: The longtime executive won't be leaving Apple just yet but staff at the company say it's a step closer to Schiller retiring. Read More A message from ThoughtSpot [On Demand] Why Traditional Analytics Are Failing Modern Teams Find out what product leaders are getting wrong about AI-native analytics. See how top teams ship embedded intelligence: in-product actionable answers, not an outdated chart. Watch Now Last but Not Least Harvard Law dropout raises $6M for Blue Voice to build a 'Harvey for police officers': Blue Voice is trained on department-specific laws, local ordinances, protocols, and guidelines that general-purpose AI tools can't access on the public internet. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107

The U.S. is building barriers around drones and robots, but China has scale to get around them

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories to start your morning

View this email online in your browser  August 31, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 The U.S. is building barriers around drones and robots, but China has scale to get around them: The U.S. is shutting out more foreign-made drones and robots. China’s scale means the global competition may simply move elsewhere. Read More MapQuest's app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario: MapQuest is getting an unexpected boost from its decision to defy President Trump’s renaming of Lake Ontario. Read More Musk's faster path to more gas turbines comes with pollution problem: Elon Musk says a secretive new SpaceX foundry will let him cast his own turbine blades and get gas power online 18 months faster than anyone else — but it's a bet on a fuel source that's already triggering lawsuits and health studies everywhere his (and others') turbines have gone in. Read More The Best Disrupt 2026 Discount Ends Soon AI has made it faster than ever to bring an idea from concept to launch.   But it hasn't made it easier to build something durable.     Disrupt 2026's programming is built around that challenge, delivering practical sessions on what actually holds up and how to build it. Ticket prices increase at midnight PT Friday, so grab yours before then!  Register Now Morning Must-Reads Liux's Big microcar bets on sustainability to take on Chinese rivals: The Liux Big microcar is made in Spain. The startup thinks it can compete in a crowded market with its tiny electric car built around sustainability. Read More Caterpillar is bringing to AI deployment what it learned from automating mining: Caterpillar has spent decades putting autonomous machines to work at remote mining sites. It's now bringing that experience to AI deployment. Read More Meeting notetaker Circleback adds a free tier to attract more customers: Circleback is also introducing new pricing plans starting from $14 per month Read More "We're not doing 30 bets a year": Vijay Pande on betting small after running $4 billion at a16z: Vijay Pande — who left a16z's roughly $4 billion biotech practice last year to start the much smaller, AI-native VZVC — talks about why biology is finally shifting from a "discovery" science to an "engineering" one, why clinical trials are still brutally expensive, and why he thinks open, shared datasets (not walled-off ones) are what will actually let AI transform medicine. Read More Sony Music, Warner sue Anthropic, alleging a "brazen campaign" of intellectual property theft: This latest lawsuit is particularly broad and homes in on accusations of illegal piracy. Read More Get Your Startup in Front of the Disrupt Crowds Not everyone needs a keynote slot to make noise at Disrupt 2026. Sometimes the best way to meet investors, customers, and partners is by exhibiting directly in the Expo Hall. And by exhibiting, you get 10 passes to Disrupt to share with your team! Learn More Last but Not Least Grindr wants to be the everything app for gay men; investors are still deciding whether it can pull it off: George Arison is done letting Wall Street's "Grindr discount" go unchallenged — in a wide-ranging Q&A, the CEO walks us through how AI, a controversial $350-plus EDGE tier, and a bet on healthcare and long-distance matchmaking are turning Grindr into the "gayborhood in your pocket" he's been promising since 2022. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107